On the evening of October 22, 2020, the third lecture of the series of "The Centennial Stories of Tongji and Germany "——" Causeries on German History" was successfully held in the lecture hall on the second floor of the German Library of Tongji University. More than 200 teachers and students participated together.

The speaker of this lecture is Doctor Chen Tao, an associate researcher of the Institute of German Studies of Tongji University. He mainly focuses on the research of the history of Sino-German relations, contemporary German history, modern and contemporary China and the outside world. In this lecture, Mr. Chen started from the record of German history and described the history of Germany from the Germanic people to the end of World War I in the form of casual talk, introducing important German historical figures profoundly in a simple way.

At the beginning of the lecture, Mr. Chen Tao first introduced the geographical location, area and population of Germany. He started with the German ancestors, the Germanic people, and talked about their living areas and their tribal leader Herrmann. Then he introduced the establishment of Holy Roman Empire, the Thirty Years’ War, etc. The virtue of the lecture is that Mr. Chen combined with the background of the rise of French Enlightenment, the French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars, and analyzed the process of the disintegration of the First German Empire, the subsequent rise of German culture and nationalism, the Prussian reform, the establishment of the German Confederation, etc. The content, in particular, introduced important historical figures such as Friedrich II, King of Prussia and Bismarck, the prime minister of Prussia. Finally, Mr. Chen made a detailed analysis of the development and changes in Germany during and after the First World War. He talked meticulously and humorously throughout the whole lecture to explain profound theories in simple terms, which aroused the students' great interest in understanding German history.

In the interactive Q&A session, the audience actively asked questions, focusing on the "standards of the beginning of German history", "the historical background of the reunification of the two Germany", "the relationship between Germany and Europe, and China", "the concept of the federation and towns of Germany" and other issues and concepts. The discussions and exchanges are in-depth and intense.

The series activities of "The Centennial Stories of Tongji and Germany" are organized by the German Library of Tongji University, the Sino-German Campus, and the Sino-German Department of Studies, co-organized by the Sino-German Humanities Exchange Research Center of Tongji University and the German Research Center of Tongji University, supported by the department of student affairs of Tongji University. This series of activities introduces the profound cultural exchanges between Tongji University and Germany in various forms such as exhibitions, online lectures and interactive salons, and tells the stories in the centennial cooperation and exchanges of Tongji people. The next lecture "German Scholars in Tongji" will be held in the lecture hall on the second floor of the German Library at 3:30 pm on October 27. Please stay tuned for the exciting content!
Photo and text: Sino-German Humanities Exchange Research Center of Tongji University


Translated by Ma Raner